Summer in Wisconsin is just different. The majority of the country does not experience what we go through in winter. Wisconsin consistently ranks in the top 10 for coldest winter temperatures in our country, and based on your weather metric of choice, Wisconsin tends to fall in or near the top 5 of most of those. Unlike the mountain states, we don’t have the same winter activities opportunities. And unlike the northeast (where they also have abundant mountain-ish activities), we don’t have a plethora of large cities to visit to pass the time, or the coast to visit. And lastly, Wisconsin is usually a top 10 state when it comes to winter cloudiness, and all that gray can certainly put a damper on one’s spirits. Minnesota and Michigan might be able to compare, but that’s about it. So when summer finally does come, we need to take advantage of it. That summer heat won’t last forever, so each post in this series we’ll go over the summer must-do’s. At the bottom I’ll share my tips to maximize your experience. For the first post in this series, I think I’d like to start with something very simple yet underrated: Getting to Miller Park (yes I’m aware of what I’m saying here) to watch a Brewer’s game.
I’m a big sports guy, so I might be biased with this pick, but I’ve been to enough games with enough people that aren’t “sports people” to know they still are able to find some enjoyment in it too. I’ll get nerdy with the sports talk down below, but baseball is America’s past time. The Brewers are Wisconsin’s team. While the Packers might hold the top spot in Wisconsin’s heart permanently, no other team or sport will beat the Brewers for that number 2 spot. Football is a fall and winter sport. And NBA championship seasons aside, Milwaukee is a baseball city through and through. The atmosphere at a Brewers game and in the city in the summer are unmatched. And the best part? There’s no wrong way to do it. Going with a large group or your family/kids? The tailgating is phenomenal and you’re about to have a top 5 day of your summer. Pack the grill, food, drinks, and a game or two. Just you and a friend or two? Stop at a bar for a pre-game beer and get a free ride to and from the park in the amazing shuttle system the city has. Hopefully sooner rather than later public transportation is an option, but until then you’re not going to find me complaining about buying one drink and getting a free trip. And the food and beer inside the stadium might not be as cheap as if you and a group go the tailgate route, but it’s still good, and with game times at a record speed these days, you’re not sitting in the seats for 4 hours anymore.
Atmosphere aside, if you are a fan of the sport of baseball, you’re sitting smack dab in the glory days for this team. To make a long story short, if you don’t follow the Brewers, or baseball in general, we’re good. Watching sports is ALWAYS more enjoyable when your team wins. And right now, we’re winning. We’ve won the NL Central for the past 3 seasons, and 4 of the last 5. We have the second most wins and second highest winning percentage in the entire major leagues since 2020. And our roster is absolutely electric, with zero signs of slowing down, as we have had the best farm system in all of baseball the past two years, and doesn’t appear to be diminishing anytime soon. Our young phenoms like “The Miz” and Jackson Chourio playing along side fan favorites like Christian Yelich, Brice Turang, William Contreras, and Abner Uribe… our future hopeful superstars like Cooper Pratt, Luis Lara, and Kyle Harrison paired with the guys projected to be studs like Jesus Made, Luis Pena, and Andrew Fischer… this is quite literally the best time to be a fan of the small market Brewers. I’m nearly 40 so I’ve been around a bit and I know the good times from the bad. The only other time in my life we’ve been this good and exciting were the years around 2011. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Carlos Gomez, Nyjer Morgan, Corey Hart… those years were the most exciting of my (then young) life. But what we’re going through right now is much more impressive. It’s not a one-off. Our front office finally figured out how to draft and develop talent long term. And while I absolutely despise the MLB’s lack of salary cap, and what the Brewers front office is forced to do in order to compete, you cannot make the claim they’re not succeeding at it.
And before you tell me that going to a Brewers game is overrated because every season ends in heartbreak, well, you’re right about that part. But this is a post about going to a Brewers game in the summer. We don’t tend to collapse until late September/early October. Again, this about the atmosphere of a mid-summer game. The team is playing well, the weather is good, you’re surrounded by fun company, and the vibes are high. Unless your kids are real little, even they’ll enjoy the game. Again, there are very few things more American than a baseball game in the summer. Take advantage of this current team and make a memory this summer.
Now I realize I’m not offering up anything in this post that people don’t already know about. A Brewer’s game isn’t some foreign concept, but I do think it’s underrated. But I want to share some tips that might not be well known that will increase your odds of making a game one of the best choices for your summer.
-If you’re going with an extremely small group, 2-4 people, and you’re already in town but looking to potentially go to a game, wait until a day or two before the game to look into tickets. Oftentimes tickets that haven’t sold will drop significantly in price as the sellers try to get anything for them at all. I’ve gotten two row 7 tickets for $85 each before. That’s much cheaper than nosebleed Packer games, and the closer you are to the field, the better the experience is, at least in my opinion. I’ve also gotten Loge Level (the second level) tickets for as cheap as $25/ticket. Unless you’re seeing a playoff game or a premier matchup (like Miz vs Skenes), odds are there’ll be plenty of seats available at a reasonable price
-MINI GRILL! Yes, you heard me right, if you’re going to be tailgating, get yourself a mini grill. I’d much rather cook with charcoal than gas, and the smaller your grill, the faster it heats up. It’s the Air Fryer version of your oven. As long as you’re not tailgating with 12+ people, you can get all your stuff done in two to three batches in record time, and still get that open flame taste
-Not tailgating? No worries, but maybe consider making this game a two day experience in Milwaukee? It’s so much more fun when you don’t have to drive, and if you’re not tailgating, there’s almost no point in driving. There are a LOT of bars in the Milwaukee area that offer free shuttle rids so long as you purchase just one drink before going. That’s an extremely fair deal, as I mentioned above. A quick google search will show you literally dozens of bars with some sort of deal. Spend the night Milwaukee and find some stuff to do the next day (or earlier that day, or both). It’s Milwaukee, you will not be bored in that city
-Look, prices of EVERYTHING are sky high right now, I get it. Want to save some money but still go? Always check the day of or the day before for real cheap tickets (I use Ticketmaster or SeatGeek). And did you know you can bring your own lunch in? I love the taste of a good stadium brat, but why not bring in your own bag of peanuts? Got kids? Bring in your own sandwiches or hot dogs!! As long as you can fit your stuff in the required sized bags, you’re all good to go. In my opinion this is one of the best perks of going to a baseball game over any other sport.
While going to a Brewers game might not be a secret, it’s still a very fun and underrated summer activity in this state, especially if you don’t live in or near Milwaukee. No summer is complete until you’ve been to at least one game, and the memories you’ll make will easily fit in your top 10 summer events this summer.
Life is Too Short to Take the Fast Way 